Introduction

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an important management tool for ensuring

optimal use of natural resources for sustainable development. A beginning in this
direction was made in our country with the impact assessment of river valley projects in
1978-79 and the scope has subsequently been enhanced to cover other developmental
sectors such as industries, thermal power projects, mining schemes etc. To facilitate
collection of environmental data and preparation of management plans, guidelines have
been evolved and circulated to the concerned Central and State Government
Departments. EIA has now been made mandatory under the Environmental (Protection
Act, 1986 for 29 categories of developmental activities involving investments of Rs. 50
crores and above.

Environmental Appraisal Committees

With a view to ensure multi-disciplinary input required for environmental appraisal of

development projects, Expert Committees have been constituted for the following sectors:

1. Mining Projects
2. Industrial Projects
3. Thermal Power Projects
4. River Valley, Multipurpose, Irrigation and H.E. Projects
5. Infrastructure Development and Miscellaneous Projects
6. Nuclear Power Projects

Environmental Appraisal Procedure

Once an application has been submitted by a project authority alongwith all the requisite
documents specified in the EIA Notification, it is scrutinised by the technical staff of the Ministry
prior to placing it before the Environmental Appraisal Committees. The Appraisal Committees
evaluate the impact of the project based on the data furnished by the project authorities and if
necessary, site visits or on-the-spot assessment of various environmental aspects are also
undertaken. Based on such examination, the Committees make recommendations for approval
or rejection of the project, which are then processed in the Ministry for approval or rejection.
In case of site specific projects such as Mining, River Valley, Ports and Harbours etc., a two
stage clearance procedure has been adopted whereby the project authorities have to obtain site
clearance before applying for environmental clearance of their projects. This is to ensure
avoiding areas which are ecologically fragile and environmentally sensitive. In case of projects
where complete information has been submitted by the project proponents, a decision is taken
within 90 days.

Monitoring

After considering all the facets of a project, environmental clearance is accorded subject to
implementation of the stipulated environmental safeguards. Monitoring of cleared projects is
undertaken by the six regional offices of the Ministry functioning at Shillong, Bhubaneshwar,
Chandigarh, Bangalore, Lucknow and Bhopal. The primary objective of such a procedure is to
ensure adequacy of the suggested safeguards and also to undertake mid-course corrections
required, if any. The procedure adopted for monitoring is as follows:

1. Project authorities are required to report every six months on the progress of implementation
of the conditions/safeguards stipulated, while according clearance to the project.
2. Field visits of officers and expert teams from the Ministry and/ or its Regional Offices are
undertaken to collect and analyse performance data of development projects, so that
difficulties encountered are discussed with the proponents with a view to finding solutions.
3. In case of substantial deviations and poor or no response, the matter is taken up with the
concerned State Government.
4. Changes in scope of project are identified to check whether review of earlier decision is called
for or not.

Understanding EIA
Environment Impact Assessment or EIA can be defined as the study to
predict the effect of a proposed activity/project on the environment. A
decision making tool, EIA compares various alternatives for a project and
seeks to identify the one which represents the best combination of economic
and environmental costs and benefits.

• What is EIA?
• Evolution of EIA
• History of EIA in India
• The EIA process
• Forms of impact assessment
• Comparative review of EIA procedures and practices

1. What is EIA?
Environment Impact Assessment or EIA can be defined as the study to
predict the effect of a proposed activity/project on the environment. A
decision making tool, EIA compares various alternatives for a project and
seeks to identify the one which represents the best combination of economic
and environmental costs and benefits.
EIA systematically examines both beneficial and adverse consequences of
the project and ensures that these effects are taken into account during project
design. It helps to identify possible environmental effects of the proposed
project, proposes measures to mitigate adverse effects and predicts whether
there will be significant adverse environmental effects, even after the
mitigation is implemented. By considering the environmental effects of the
project and their mitigation early in the project planning cycle, environmental
assessment has many benefits, such as protection of environment, optimum
utilisation of resources and saving of time and cost of the project. Properly
conducted EIA also lessens conflicts by promoting community participation,
informing decision makers, and helping lay the base for environmentally
sound projects. Benefits of integrating EIA have been observed in all stages
of a project, from exploration and planning, through construction, operations,
decommissioning, and beyond site closure.
2. Evolution of EIA

EIA is one of the successful policy innovations of the 20th Century for
environmental conservation. Thirty-seven years ago, there was no EIA but
today, it is a formal process in many countries and is currently practiced in
more than 100 countries. EIA as a mandatory regulatory procedure originated
in the early 1970s, with the implementation of the National Environment
Policy Act (NEPA) 1969 in the US. A large part of the initial development
took place in a few high-income countries, like Canada, Australia, and New
Zealand (1973-74). However, there were some developing countries as well,
which introduced EIA relatively early - Columbia (1974), Philippines
(1978).

The EIA process really took off after the mid-1980s. In 1989, the World
Bank adopted EIA for major development projects, in which a borrower
country had to undertake an EIA under the Bank's supervision (see table 1:
Evaluation and history of EIA).

Table 1: Evolution and history of EIA

Development of EIA

Pre-1970 Project review based on the technical/engineering

and economic analysis.

Limited consideration given to environmental

consequences.

Early/mid – 1970s EIA introduced by NEPA in 1970 in US.

Basic principle: Guidelines, procedures including

public participation requirement instituted.

Standard methodologies for impact analysis

developed (e.g. matrix, checklist and network).
 Canada, Australia and New Zealand became the
first countries to follow NEPA in 1973-1974.
Unlike Australia, which legislated EIA, Canada
and New Zealand established administrative
procedures.

Major public inquires help shape the process's

development.

Late 1970 and early More formalised guidance.

1980s
Other industrial and developing countries
introduced formal EIA requirements (France, 1976;
Philippines, 1977), began to use the process
informally or experimentally ( Netherlands, 1978)
or adopted elements, such as impact statements or
reports, as part of development applications for
planning permission (German states [lander],
Ireland).

Use of EA by developing countries (Brazil,

Philippines, China, Indonesia)

Strategic Environment Assessment[1] (SEA), risk

analysis included in EA processes[2].

Greater emphasis on ecological modelling,

prediction and evaluation methods.

Provision for public involvement.

Coordination of EA with land use planning

processes.

Mid 1980s to end of In Europe, EC Directive on EIA establishes basic

decade principle and procedural requirements for all
 member states.

Increasing efforts to address cumulative effects.

World Bank and other leading international aid

agencies establish EA requirements.

Spread of EIA process in Asia.

1990s Requirement to consider trans-boundary effects

under Espoo convention.

Increased use of GIS and other information

technologies.

Sustainability principal and global issues receive

increased attention.

India also adopted the EIA formally.

Formulation of EA legislation by many developing

countries.

Rapid growth in EA training.

Source: International Study of the Effectiveness of Environmental

Assessment, final report, Environmental assessment in a changing world,
Prepared by Barry Sadler, June 1996.

[1]Definition of SEA: Policy tool to assess the environmental

consequences of development policies, plans and programmes
[2]Definition of risk assessment: An instrument for estimating the
probability of harm occurring from the presence of dangerous conditions
or materials at a project site. Risk represents the likelihood and
significance of a potential hazard being realized

3. History of EIA in India

The Indian experience with Environmental Impact Assessment began over 20
years back. It started in 1976-77 when the Planning Commission asked the
Department of Science and Technology to examine the river-valley projects
from an environmental angle. This was subsequently extended to cover those
projects, which required the approval of the Public Investment Board. Till
1994, environmental clearance from the Central Government was an
administrative decision and lacked legislative support.

On 27 January 1994, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF),

Government of India, under the Environmental (Protection) Act 1986,
promulgated an EIA notification making Environmental Clearance (EC)
mandatory for expansion or modernisation of any activity or for setting up
new projects listed in Schedule 1 of the notification. Since then there have
been 12 amendments made in the EIA notification of 1994.

The MoEF recently notified new EIA legislation in September 2006. The
notification makes it mandatory for various projects such as mining, thermal
power plants, river valley, infrastructure (road, highway, ports, harbours and
airports) and industries including very small electroplating or foundry units
to get environment clearance. However, unlike the EIA Notification of 1994,
the new legislation has put the onus of clearing projects on the state
government depending on the size/capacity of the project.

Certain activities permissible under the Coastal Regulation Zone Act, 1991
also require similar clearance. Additionally, donor agencies operating in
India like the World Bank and the ADB have a different set of requirements
for giving environmental clearance to projects that are funded by them.
4. The EIA process
The stages of an EIA process will depend upon the requirements of the
country or donor. However, most EIA processes have a common structure
and the application of the main stages is a basic standard of good practice.

The environment impact assessment consists of eight steps with each step
equally important in determining the overall performance of the project.
Typically, the EIA process begins with screening to ensure time and
resources are directed at the proposals that matter environmentally and ends
with some form of follow up on the implementation of the decisions and
actions taken as a result of an EIA report. The eight steps of the EIA process
are presented in brief below:

• Screening: First stage of EIA, which determines whether the proposed

project, requires an EIA and if it does, then the level of assessment
 required.

• Scoping: This stage identifies the key issues and impacts that should
be further investigated. This stage also defines the boundary and time
limit of the study.

• Impact analysis: This stage of EIA identifies and predicts the likely
environmental and social impact of the proposed project and evaluates
the significance.
• Mitigation: This step in EIA recommends the actions to reduce and
avoid the potential adverse environmental consequences of
development activities.

• Reporting: This stage presents the result of EIA in a form of a report

to the decision-making body and other interested parties.
• Review of EIA: It examines the adequacy and effectiveness of the EIA
report and provides the information necessary for decision-making.

• Decision-making: It decides whether the project is rejected, approved

or needs further change.

• Post monitoring: This stage comes into play once the project is
commissioned. It checks to ensure that the impacts of the project do
not exceed the legal standards and implementation of the mitigation
measures are in the manner as described in the EIA report.

The overview of the EIA process is represented in figure 1.

Figure 1: Generalised process flow sheet of the EIA process

Source: The manual in perspective, EIA Training Resource Manual, United

Nations Environment Programme, 2002
5. Forms of impact assessment
There are various forms of impact assessment such as Health Impact
Assessment (HIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) that are used to
assess the health and social consequences of development so that they are
taken into consideration along with the environmental assessment. One of the
forms of impact assessment is strategic environment assessment, which is
briefly discussed below: